In my ten years at Bearwood Chapel, we’ve only felt the need to pursue full church discipline in line with 1 Corinthians 5 on one occasion. However the need to remove membership due to persistent, unrepentant and serious sin will sadly arise from time to time in church life. We’ve been talking about the importance… Continue reading Does forgiveness remove the need for church discipline?
Author: faithrootsdw
Home (Proverbs 14)
One of my favourite places to visit is Blenheim Palace. It’s an impressive tourist attraction, an elegantly designed building set in acres of beautiful parkland. As well as being a tourist attraction, it’s actually the home of the Marlborough family. However, a number of commentators have observed that it wasn’t so much designed to be… Continue reading Home (Proverbs 14)
Sabbath Rest -Do we need to keep Sunday special?
When I was growing up, there was still a strong emphasis on keeping Sunday as a special day, the Christian Sabbath. In a lot of church cultures, the expectation was that you attended church at least twice, wore your Sunday best and that activities during the day were limited to those considered spiritually edifying. Sunday… Continue reading Sabbath Rest -Do we need to keep Sunday special?
COVID-19 Safety and Attending Bearwood Chapel
We want to let you know that you are very welcome to join us for worship at the Chapel. This Sunday there will be a service beginning at 10:30am with doors open from 10am. We also want to reassure you that we are complying with the latest advice from the Government and from Sandwell’s Director… Continue reading COVID-19 Safety and Attending Bearwood Chapel
Exploring Forgiveness and Repentance
I’ve been writing a little recently about forgiveness. It arises out of our recent studies from the Sermon on the Mount. It also relates to some other things I have written recently about our pastoral responsibilities to victims of abuse and to those accused. So, I was interested to see the other day that my… Continue reading Exploring Forgiveness and Repentance
Woke?
How did the term “woke” become the insult of choice in 2020? The word is simply an African-Americanism meaning to be awake. It has been around for many years. It came to describe those who had become awake to their subjugation. Woke people were awake to racial injustice, the historical effects of the slave trade… Continue reading Woke?
Grace Culture – the importance of swift repentance and forgiveness
I believe that a grace culture is one where we are quick to seek forgiveness, express sorrow and repentance, to offer forgiveness and to seek reconciliation. This reflects the teaching in the Sermon on the Mount which is all about what it means to be saturated in God’s love and grace so that we enjoy… Continue reading Grace Culture – the importance of swift repentance and forgiveness
Angry at God? (4) The trouble with me
What is one of the most significant root causes of anger? I want to suggest that it often comes down to my desire to be in control. We often get angry when things happen that we hadn’t planned for and that we can’t do anything about. We become frustrated because our plans for life are… Continue reading Angry at God? (4) The trouble with me
Pills, therapy and sin
US pastor Gabriel Hughes tweeted the following to his 15k followers this week. I want to spend a little bit of time responding here as quite a few people reacted strongly to what came across as an insensitive comment. Among Hughes’ followers will be people who struggle with depression, other forms of mental illness and… Continue reading Pills, therapy and sin
Do we need to learn to doubt?
Schools are returning after lockdown and the summer break, soon students will be heading off to University too. So what should they be learning? What should professors and tutors be teaching their students? Here is one suggested list. It seems a good list doesn’t it? I agree that we should be teaching students how to… Continue reading Do we need to learn to doubt?
Faithroots 